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Polk County News 2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 4, 2017 Nursing students look at whole health By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Ansily Tulen- sru was hospitalized in May 2016, and after weeks of re- covery, struggled to get back on her feet and deal basic needs, let alone long-term goals. The Monmouth resident went to the Polk County Re- source Center seeking assis- tance from the Salvation Army, and was offered something she wasn’t ex- pecting — help with her health care. The center, Capitol Den- tal, Northwest Human Serv- ices, Polk County Family & Community Outreach, Polk County Health Department Salem Health West Valley Hospital and Willamette Val- ley Community Health are working in a partnership with Oregon Health & Sci- ence University’s School of Nursing at Western Oregon University. The program has nursing students working with service agencies to help people with needs, includ- ing health insurance and health care. Tulensru, 33, said the pro- gram has been a life-chang- er for her. “When they first met me, I was in need of health insur- ance,” she said. She had been told she qualified for the Oregon Health Plan, but struggled to get her coverage. The pro- gram placed her with a stu- dent to help her work through the insurance “jun- gle of chaos” and then onto a plan to manage her health. “They help you explore resources and options and help you find things that didn’t know where there,” she said. The program is called “Interprofessional Care As- sess Network” or I-CAN, and partnerships are paid for through a two-year grant from Willamette Val- ley Community Health, the local coordinated care or- ganization. JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Patti Warkentin, left, with the new group of students from Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, Monmouth Campus during their first week of helping clients at the Polk County Resource Center in Dallas. OHSU has similar I-CAN programs in Portland, Ash- land and Medford and Kla- math Falls, with one in de- velopment in La Grande. Polk’s program is the first to place nursing students with service agencies outside the medical or dental fields. Nursing students meet with clients in a peer coun- seling format to help them address other health needs aside from insurance and im- mediate care. That includes long-term planning and edu- cation so clients can learn to manage their own health. If that sounds like its out- side traditional definition of “nurse,” it’s meant to be. “By working one-on-one with patients, these students can assist in developing per- sonal health objectives, pro- vide support and education, and guide individuals to- ward securing ongoing health care with the goal of creating self-sufficiency in addressing health and well- ness issues and needs,” said Angie Doherty, the associate dean of the Monmouth campus OHSU school of nursing. She said the program helps nursing students un- derstand what may be be- hind some patients’ health struggles. That was the case for Keri Joyce, a nursing student who participated in the program last year. Joyce said she helped a lot of clients with applying for the Oregon Health Plan and had four ongoing clients with more complex issues. Those cases taught her valu- able lessons about how to approach caring for pa- tients. “As a nurse you go in to a hospital, and sometimes you work with a patient for a day and they are gone, and you don’t understand why so many people are coming into hospitals, why so many are having trouble navigating the health care system and landing themselves in the emergency room,” she said. The I-CAN program has nursing students going to a client’s home, finding out what other issues patients must address outside of health care. “Whatever the barrier might be, you just learn a lot about the community you are living in and working in, and the clientele that you see, regardless of where you work as a nurse or as a nurs- ing student,” she said. Patti Warkentin, an in- structor with the OHSU School of Nursing at WOUF, said the program and others like it could be a model for the future of health. She said doctors and nurses will always be need- ed to treat the sick and wounded. “But It doesn’t need to be the place where such a large percentage of our health care dollars are spent,” she said. More resources could be directed toward prevention education, with nurses help- ing people learn about their health and how to take con- trol of it. Doherty said the program w i l l p rov i d e d a t a a n d progress reports to Willamette Valley Commu- nity Health to see how the program is improving out- comes for patients. Brent Defoe, the director of the Polk County Family & Community Outreach De- partment, who oversees the resource center, believes the program’s focus on both the immediate (food and shel- ter) and long-term needs of clients will be successful. “What the I-CAN students can do through home visit- ing with clients and then long-term planning and some case management, has the potential to change lives,” he said. “This will save countless dollars in the fu- ture, and I strongly believe that the data from this model will incite and excite other communities to adopt it.” Come to the Household E FRE Hazardous Waste Collection Event! Celebrating 5 Years! Now accepting vendor applications for 2018. Please call 503-837-0045. Especially for our neighbors and community with user friendly hours. to Close ! Hazelnuts, Fresh Produce, Artisans Home Hadley Radio Bakery, & other vendors Independence Riverview Park Home Accent & Car Care Deadline to reserve: October 5 Publishes: October 18 DATE: Saturday, October 7th, 2017 TIME: From 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. LOCATION: Independence Riverview Park (100 Main Street) SPONSORED BY: Polk County, The Cities of Dallas,_______ Independence, Monmouth and Salem Size: 1/8 pg 1/4 pg 1/2 pg 1/2 pg vert Full pg Back pg Call us at 503-623-2373 Heidi ext. 115, Aaron ext. 110 or Karen ext. 118 4.917” x 2.5” 4.917” x 5.083” 10” x 5.083” 4.917” x 10.292” 10” x 10.292” 10” x 10.292” B&W Color $95 $135 $155 $195 $265 $305 $265 $305 $475 $525 $577 $577 Itemizer-Observer 147 SE Court St., Dallas